Why Cabin in the Woods is the Horror Movie for Everyone

Imagine one of your friends invite you for a weekend getaway in the woods. At first, you're reluctant to go, but your friend talks you into it. You go with your friend and three other people to a cabin.

It's out in the middle of nowhere. Amazing how in the twenty-first century, you can still find dead zones. No phone, no internet, and barely any television. Maybe it's the kind of weekend you need-- a weekend where you're cut off from the world and can recharge.

Now imagine when you get there, weird things start happening at the cabin. One by one, your friends disappear only for you to find them dead not long after.

All of this and more is the plot to one of the best horror movies I've ever seen, Cabin in the Woods.

Why is this movie the best?

This movie plays like it's your regular slasher movie. You can pick out the different character types with each person in the plot. You know who the pretty girl is, the sporty guy, the nerd, the stoner, and the virginal character.

It's hard to talk about why this movie is fantastic without giving away plot. It's aware of all the cliches in your classic slasher movie. But it tweaks them in a way that you laugh a little too.

Not only are you anticipating jump scares, you're also laughing at these different character cliches. You know who's going to die in a classic slasher, so you're making jokes with your friends about what will happen to which character. The movie jokes with you too!

And it's written by one of the few men who know how to write a woman, Joss Whedon. That's right. The same man who wrote Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is the mastermind behind this movie.

As you watch, you can catch Whedon's style with the movie. You can hear the funny lines and think, "Yep! That's Joss Whedon!"

Do you like movie-verse theories? Cabin in the Woods is part of Joss Whedon's movie-verse. There is a theory that all of Whedon's movies take place in the same universe. This film could potentially be the one that shows how Buffy the Vampire Slayer can hang out in the same universe as Firefly.

I know I'm keeping it vague

I'm doing it on purpose. When I first heard about this movie, the most I got told was I have to see it. To say anything about it would take away the fun of the film. I gave too much information with what I talked about already, probably.

I didn't watch it for the first time until last year. It's not that I don't like a good scary movie. It's that I didn't know this film existed. It has a sort of cult following. But it's growing fast. Not being able to tell you about it is part of the fun of this movie.

I want it that way. I want you to find the movie and watch it. I want to see you make a big bowl of popcorn, open a bottle of beer, and dive into the film. I want you to see for yourself why this movie is one of the best for Halloween.

And some memes from this year will make sense.

The takeaway

If you're looking for unexpected fun while getting scared, Cabin in the Woods is the right movie for you. We're living in insane times, and this movie is the perfect Halloween flick for the times we live in.

In 2020, we have no idea what's going to happen. One month, we're debating whether or not Carole Baskin killed her husband. Another month, we're wondering if murder hornets are leaving Seatle any time soon. This movie is a great way to make light of the chaos happening this year.